We Three Kings
by GumGumOnigiri
Summary: Raised in the gutter. We started from the bottom. We're all we ever had. We're all we ever needed. Forever undefeated. Live or die, we'll always be... Brothers. A series of One-Shots based on our favourite pirate brothers! Update! Chapter 2: Dawn
1. Chariots of Fire

**(Warning! Major Spoilers For Current And Possibly Future Chapters! You Have Been Warned!)**

**Aaaaah finally got this one out! It's been rattling around in my brain for months!**

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I do not own One Piece.**

**Chariots of Fire**

"Night time... day time! Night time... day time! Night time... day time! Night time..."

"Wow." Koala muttered to herself as she watched her friend and fellow revolutionary endlessly amuse himself with his new trick. The power of the sun in the palm of his hand and all the idiot could think of was to turn his thumb into a zippo lighter.

Hack merely snorted in dry amusement next to her before going back to his constant vigil, the fishman was nothing if not paranoid.

The Strawhats and their new friends were merrily going about their business ie; sleeping, reading, being a pervert, being worshipped as god, etc without a care in the world. She wondered why they didn't just start the party right now because apparently worrying about the outcome of their captain's fight was a mere formality at this point.

It had been less than an hour since things had slowly ground to a halt and people had finally stopped being controlled by the birdcage, of course it was hard to tell when exactly that happened. The amount of carnage and insanity brought about by this _technique_ if it could even be called that made her stomach lurch and her blood boil.

_Whole families slaughtered, innocent people forced to commit horrendous acts of violence and we just sit here like it's _nothing._ Sure the marines had been adamant that they take care of the wounded... but still! How can we sit here while the bastard responsible for all this is still-_

***BOOOOOOOOM***

Not too far from them _something_ struck the ground with enough force to cause a sonic boom drawing the attention of every single person on the street.

As the dust cleared from the newly formed crater some sort of collective instinct forced silence on the moment.

_This is it._ They all thought. _For good or bad... it's the end._

Finally the wind picked up and a familiar broken figure was revealed. Sans a pair of arms and a newly acquired fist shaped dent on his right temple. The whole scene was eerily reminiscent of Bellamy the Hyena's humiliation so long ago.

_Donquixote Doflamingo_ aka _The Heavenly Demon_ aka _Joker... _had been_ defeated!_

_He's not smiling anymore. _Koala thought with a giddy wave of relief, a feeling that spread through the surrounding crowd like wild fire as they witnessed the defeat of their once tyrant king.

"He did it." Whispered the supposed long-nosed god as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He was almost trembling with excitement.

"He really did it." Sobbed the pink haired gladiator who then fell to her knees, waterfall tears streaming down her face.

***POP***

They all blinked at the strange noise and suddenly he was just _there_ at the edge of the shichibukai's crater standing tall if a little bloodied with Law and Bellamy slung casually over his shoulders. He blinked down at the blonde shichibukai and gave a huff of satisfaction before turning away and casually making his way towards them.

It was too much for Usopp who could feel the anticipation buzzing through the crowd behind him and it only amplified his own growing need to just... shout? Sing? It didn't matter! Tension coursed through his body just aching to be released and he was in no position to deny it.

"HEEEEEEE DID-Boooooooof!"

The long-nose's long awaited cheer was cut short by a gloved palm which suddenly smashed him in the face and sent him flying in an undignified heap.

They all watched in astonishment as Sabo pushed the sniper out of his way in a reckless charge of excitement towards his brother, all the while screaming and jumping like a little kid on Christmas.

"HE DID IT! HE DID IT!" Then the revolutionary actually _twirled_ around and pointed back at them with this horribly childish "I told you so" look on his face. "I TOLD YOU HE'D DO IT AND HE DID IT HAHAHAHAAAAAA! LUFFY! LUUUFFY!"

As they watched him complete his twirl and start a mad sprint towards his brother, the tension finally broke. Cheers, laughter and sobs filled every inch of the street and soon the entire city was caught in the wave of unspeakable happiness and relief.

"Wow." Koala gave an involuntary face-palm as she watched her friend make an utter fool of himself. Still she couldn't help the small smile that graced her features.

It was finally over.

XXX

"Wow you have no stamina at all!" Luffy chuckled at his fellow D who gave him a look that could have curdled milk.

"I told you the power eats at my energy, and I used the last of it just to get us back here!"

"We could have just walked you know?"

Law roughly jerked his head towards the unconscious Bellamy. "Not if we want your friend to stay alive we couldn't."

Luffy just gave him a blank look. "But... aren't you a doctor?"

Law seemed to freeze for a couple of seconds before quietly whispering "Oh... yeah."

"Did you forget?"

"OF COURSE I DIDN'T FORGET YOU IDIOT!" Law's face was now beat red.

"But... then why did we-"

"OH WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FU-" Unfortunately Law's tirade was cut off by the repeated screaming of some lunatic in a top hat.

"LUFFY! HEEEY! LUUUFFY!"

"Who the hell is that?" Law wondered out loud. He turned back to his strawhat companion only to blanch at the misty eyed look on his face.

"S-Sabo... his name's Sabo... sniff... he's my brother!"

"You- you have another bro-OW! SON OF A-"

_I'm gonna kill that guy!_ Law thought as he and Bellamy found themselves unceremoniously dumped like a sack of potatoes. Growling in irritation Law grabbed his sword and using it as a crutch hoisted himself into a standing position so he could watch the two long lost brothers finally meet, curious despite himself.

_There's only two ways this can end. _He thought with a numb certainty.

"SABO!"

"LUFFY!"

Time seemed to slow down as Luffy and Sabo ran towards each other, both of them just so happy all they could do was scream the others name. Had Brook been there with his piano he might have been inspired to immortalise the moment with a certain tune.

"SABO!"

"LUFFY!"

As the distance closed between them Sabo felt like he was swimming so great was his pride in his little brother. In fact it was so great he didn't even notice the sudden spike of killing-intent.

"SABO!"

"LUFFY!"

"SABOooo!" Now no more that ten feet from each other Sabo could clearly see his baby brother's face. His happy expression suddenly shifted from happiness to outright malevolence and the top hat'd man's tear filled eyes suddenly widened in confusion at his brothers strange behaviour

"Luffy?"

"SABOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Five feet. Too late to run he realised with very real dread as his name turned into a scream of primal rage.

Two feet. Luffy, his pupils now completely dilated, through his right arm back as far as it would go without stretching. There was a distinct 'bamf' sound as the black power sprang to life across the appendage.

Utterly helpless to do anything Sabo could only watch in amazement as Luffy's fist was suddenly in his face.

_Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiii-_

***CRUNCH***

Luffy's haki infused knuckles slammed against his brothers left cheek so hard everything seemed shift out of place. Time seemed to stop altogether and the world itself actually turned black and white for all but an instant.

In that moment Sabo heard a single crack and he honestly believed it was his head being detached from his spine.

He would later wonder when it was exactly he himself had become so frigging dramatic.

All too soon it seemed, time kicked back into action. And he was suddenly sent flying backwards with such force it sent the gaping crowd of dressrossians ducking for cover. Luckily enough- for them at least, it was the old man Don Chinjao who saw fit to stop his rapid acceleration... with his iron stomach.

***CRACK***

Then everything went black.

XXX

Law shuffled over to Luffy who blew steam through his nose like a bull before storming off towards his rather stunned looking crew.

"Was that really necessary?" Law called after his newest friend as he struggled to keep up with him.

"Damn right!" Luffy called back not once slowing down.

"How did it feel?"

"Take one goddamn guess!" The rubberman all but spat back at him before shouting at his crew to make with the food already!

Law briefly turned back to the revolutionary trio and watched with mild amusement as the short haired girl harshly berated an unconscious Sabo while her fishman partner struggled not to break out into deep belly laughs.

_That good huh? _He smirked to himself before hobbling his way after the Strawhats.

XXX

As he munched on the rice ball in his hand Law gazed down at his sleeping patient with a contemplative expression on his face. With a sigh of annoyance the Shichibukai delicately picked a tiny grain of rice from the delicious snack before casually flicking it towards the unconscious burn victim.

"Room... Shambles."

"Gah! What the hell!" Sabo spluttered as a gallon of sea water appeared out of nowhere and splashed down upon his sleeping form.

"Oh good you're awake." Law dead-panned before getting up and heading for the door.

"W-where am I-OW my face! What happened?"

"You got your ass beaten, that's what happened." Law stated as he leaned against the door frame. "Also you've been out for half a day."

"Half a day!?"

"Yep."

"Damn it I need to report in to Dragon."

"Don't worry you're friends are taking care of it, also they told me to tell you that this little episode counts as your vacation."

"WHAT!?"

"That's what they said Dragon said."

"Son of a bitch... where is the little brat?"

"Right outside."

XXX

It had been roughly half a day since Donflamingo had been defeated and the Strawhats were getting anxious to be off and find Sanji and the others, though the same couldn't be said for the captain. After the celebration – where Luffy had consumed more than 50 times his body weight in food, the rubberman had then promptly climbed a tree and fallen asleep without a word to anyone.

After a few half hearted attempts to get his attention they crew realised that the only way Luffy was going to move was when he was good and ready.

So here they were, once again, patiently catering to their captains stubborn selfishness. Not that they would have it any other way, but still... it would be nice to know what he was waiting for.

The answer seemed so obvious when a soaking wet Sabo suddenly came stomping his way towards them with a smug looking Law following close behind.

The new fireman came to a stop in front of the pirates tree and let loose a kick that caused the mighty oak to sway dangerously on it's foundations. Luffy- infuriatingly enough just continued to snore.

"Get down here Luffy! We gotta talk!"

"Snore!"

"Are you still five!? Wake the hell up!"

"..."

"Luffy, I'm not leaving till we talk."

"...snore!"

What the hell do want from me? Huh? What? Do you want me to say I'm sorry? Sorry that I wasn't there when you needed me? Is that it? Fine! I'm sorr-"

***SNAP***

The little snot bubble burst and suddenly Luffy was staring down at his brother, his eyes flashing from under the brim of his strawhat.

"You bastard."

Sabo blinked and suddenly Luffy wasn't in the tree anymore, suddenly he was right in his face and the look of absolute monstrous rage on his face was almost enough to make Sabo take a step back. Almost.

"Luffy," Sabo stated calmly, refusing to be intimidated even though every sense he possessed screamed at him to tread carefully."If you'll just let me explain..."

"I don't care."

Sabo blinked in shock at the sudden interruption. "What...?"

"Are you stupid? I said I don't care!" Luffy was trembling. So great was the rage building inside him that a single angry tear forced it's way out of his eyelid and streak it's way down his dirty cheek.

He screamed into his brothers shocked face. "I don't care where you've been! I don't care what your reasons are! I don't even care that you weren't there to help me save Ace!"

The silence is cold and hard. It's the first time Luffy's mentioned his brother since he and his crew found each other. And though he's not even thinking about them right now, they each feel the sting of guilt and shame. He always came through for them. No matter what challenges he faced, or how hopeless everything seemed, he would always find a way.

Zoro is the first to stand and though his face is as stoic as ever the usual steel in his eye is replaced by a helplessness that is borderline out of character for the swordsman, he makes a single jerking motion with his head before walking off in some random direction.

It's not logical or even helpful, but almost as one they each turn to follow him, giving the brothers the privacy they deserve. Because the one time their captain really needed them, they weren't there.

This is all they can do.

Only Law remains where he is... curiosity getting the better of him. And hey it was him who saved the guys life right?

But for Sabo it's different. 'Blood is thicker than water' they say and even though they don't share the same blood, a wise man once said 'We're all children of the sea'.

Each word was it's own agonising fist through his gut but Sabo refused to turn away. He wouldn't hide behind excuses or explanations and truth be told there were none. He should have been there.

Maybe he could have made a difference... maybe not... it doesn't matter.

Everything he is... everything he didn't become... he owes to those two.

He _should_ have been there.

As a familiar iron ball of guilt and self loathing sinks to the bottom of his stomach, something leaves him slightly confused. _Luffy said he didn't care about that stuff..._

"What I _do_ care about..." Luffy continues to rage, his fist's clenched so tight if they weren't rubber they might break. "is that Ace _died_ thinking _you were dead!_"

And just like that the all the rage leaves his body and Luffy slumps to the ground, silent tears of frustration and hurt streaming down his face.

Sabo is speechless. He honestly can't think of anything to say, so he just falls on his butt and continues looking at his little brother. He used to imagine how they would all meet up one day. Ace and Luffy would have achieved their dreams and still have no idea he was alive, maybe they would drink to his memory or something, fill up three cups of sake like they did when they were kids and just as they were about to kampai he would swoop in and surprise the hell out of them.

Somehow the look on their faces always kept him from totally dismissing such a childish fantasy.

"He got a tattoo and everything."

The mumbled statement catches Sabo off guard and he gives his head a shake.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"What was it?"

Luffy dries his eyes with the back of his hand and then rubs his left arm, he shoots Sabo a grin that makes his heart hurt like hell.

"It said ACE but with an S in it and the S was crossed out."

An image of Ace staring at him in shock before desperately trying to hide the tattoo suddenly flashes through his mind and a laugh all the way from the bottom of his gut bursts out before he can stop it. "Ahaahahah oh! Oh no! No way! Aww that is sooo sweet!"

"Shishishi I know right!" Luffy snickers along with him.

An idea suddenly occurs to him. "Hey hey how do you know it was for me? Maybe the tattoo guy mucked it up and Ace was just trying to make the best of a bad situation!"

Luffy throws his head back literally howling with laughter. "HE WOULD! HE SO WOULD DO THAT!" His sandled feet clap together like a toy monkey. "He was always trying to act soo cool!"

It feels like hours they just sit there under the hot sun, shooting the shit and reminiscing about days long gone... laughing at all the stupid shit they did as kids... making fun of Ace and each other.

It's like coming home.

"Ahahahaahaha-AH ow damn it! Luffy why did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Don't be a cry baby Sabo."

"Me? You were the one crying just a few minutes ago!"

"Well at least I didn't get knocked out with one punch!"

Sabo literally growls at that comment before running away and quickly returning with a barrel in hand and slams it down on the ground. The message is clear, it's a challenge.

"That's it you little bastard get over here! It's time to settle this once and for all."

Luffy childishly blows a raspberry at him before they settle into position, each crushing the other's hand in a grip that could bend steel like tissue paper.

"Just don't cry when you lose, big brother." Luffy says as he sticks his tongue out in concentration.

"We'll see who cries." Sabo snarks right back and with a mighty heave they begin.

XXX

Of course it's a stalemate. The barrel explodes before they even use half their strength.

They both smirk at each other, hands still held in a vice grip, though this time there's nothing but brotherly comradery.

"Just like old times, huh?" Luffy asks Sabo as they pull their hands back and share a brotherly clap.

"You can say that again." Sabo smiles. Luffy grins back before they notice Koala casually walking towards them.

"Enough with the Guy Love you two..." She smiles radiantly at the brothers. They just grin back. "Seriously you're gonna make me throw uuuuuuu-" She trails off as she stares up at Sabo's grinning face like he just grew an extra head.

Before he can react Koala suddenly collapses to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"H-hey what hell's so funny." Sabo asks more than a little freaked out by her odd behaviour.

When she doesn't answer he scratches his head in confusion and turns to his brother only to find him shielding his eyes with his hat.

"What? What is it? Is there something on my face?"

Luffy just turns away, though he can't hide the secretive little grin that spreads across his lips.

Koala having recovered from her laughing fit for the moment, quickly stands up and drapes her right arm around her friends shoulders "Yeah, you could say that." She snickers as she pokes him in his left cheek.

A nasty pain suddenly flares to life causing Sabo to yelp and cover his mouth protectively.

"Though...snrk...it- it's more like... cough... 'What's no longer _in _your face!'" With that she falls back to ground unable to control her laughter anymore.

A sick feeling of dread overcomes Sabo and very gently he reaches into his mouth and pokes a very familiar gap. A gap he'd thought he done away with a long time ago.

"Oi... Oioioioi! Oi! Law! Law! Why didn't you fix this?"

The Shchibukai, who had been skulking about nearby, turns his head to see Sabo running towards him, gesturing wildly to his newly chipped tooth.

"I'm a doctor not a dentist." he replies casually much to Sabo's spluttering indignation.

"What?...But...Wha-"

"And besides," Law cuts him off . "To do so would go against the Alliance."

Sabo's mind goes blank at that last statement. He watches as Law makes a swift hand gesture before popping out of existence altogether.

Simply unable to comprehend what just happened. Sabo can only stand there utterly confused before being startled out of his stupor by a gentle clap on his shoulder.

Unable to help himself he turns his head to see his little brother smiling cheekily up at him.

"Look on the bright side..." Luffy says as Koala's laughter continues to echo in the background. "At least you look more like Sabo now."

**Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think?**


	2. Dawn

**Damn muse. Sometimes good or bad you just gotta get stuff out. I don't even know if this is gonna go anywhere. Oh well.**

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I do not own One Piece.**

**Dawn**

It was early morning in the Gao Kingdom and Ace and Sabo were lounging against a wall just a few feet away from the Gray Terminal. They were waiting for their block headed brother Luffy, who had slept in again, to finally catch up with them so they could head over to Town Centre for a good old fashioned eat n' run. They had decided to pass the time playing a game they had created. Both boys were particularly proud of their naming ability in this case, a thing of true genius in their humble opinion.

It was a close thing as they were already two for two in a classic showdown of _Fart or Burp?_ when a scream of absolute unbridled terror broke their concentration.

"AAARRRRRRRGH!"

Instinct kicked in forcing them to dive for the metal pipes they so happily used as weapons while at the same time letting loose the eructations they had been desperately concocting in hopes to befuddle their opponent. Three seconds later they took a ready stance before their heads snapped towards each other, each screaming out in unison.

"FART/BURP!"

Another tie.

"DAMN IT!"

Always a tie! When will the madness end?

At that moment Luffy sprinted past them still screaming at the top of his lungs but thankfully his mouth was muffled by his hands. Thank god for small favours as they didn't fancy stirring up trouble in the Terminal, at least not before breakfast anyway.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Ace wondered out loud as he watched the dust cloud his brother created fade off onto the distance.

"I dunno, but he's not being chased..." Sabo stared past the direction Luffy had come from _The docks?_ but couldn't see anybody out for his brother's blood, which is more unusual than it seems.

"Whatever lets just get him before he does something stupid." Ace said suddenly taking off running after Luffy with Sabo following close behind.

"Stupider that running through the Gray like the whiny crybaby he is?"

"Yeah."

"Why is he our brother again?"

"Because you didn't grow a pair and kill him when we had the chance!"

"Me!? I didn't exactly see you stand up and take charge ya brooding asshole!"

Ouch! Okay screw Luffy! That was below the belt and Ace was gonna return Sabo the favour. They each skidded to a halt, coming nose to nose, determined to kick each other's ass when they heard a familiar muffled screeching... coming from behind them?

They turned and watched Luffy come speeding towards them... and then past them... and then off into the distance again.

A moment of stunned silence passed before Ace spoke.

"Did he just...?"

"Yep." Sabo confirmed.

"But didn't we just...?"

"Yep." Sabo confirmed again.

"How the hell...?"

"Not a clue."

The stunned silence went on for a few minutes more before they each turned to see Luffy once again speeding towards them, at a much slower pace he now seemed to be torn between screaming for his life and gasping for breath, of course it was a moot point since his mouth was still being muffled by his hands.

"Well... now I've seen everything." Ace spoke with a the barest hint of respect in his voice.

"Lil brother's been holding out on us." Sabo chuckled with pride, he turned to Ace who matched his proud smile with one of his own.

"You ready?" Ace asked.

"Born that way." Sabo saluted with his hat, they're proud expressions not budging an inch.

As soon as Luffy was within punching distance Ace and Sabo both erupted with a combined pipe attack to his rubber face sending him flying backwards, he skidded and bounced of the ground before finally crashing into a mountain of garbage that tipped on it's side for a second before creating an avalanche that completely buried the wannabe Pirate King.

_It's nothing personal Luffy... _Ace and Sabo thought in unison cause apparently that's their thing now. _But you have to learn that there are consequences to you're actions, actions like running around an island in seconds and showing up you're big brothers._

All was silent as they both stood there, arms crossed with suitably epic shadowed eyes, waiting for their brother to struggle his way out his newly made garbage tomb. _Learn from this and grow even stronger._

A can suddenly toppled down the mountain of collapsed garbage, then an old bottle container with bits of broken glass spilling out of it and then a barrel full to the brim with what could only be used condoms, followed closely by a bloody brown sack which was most probably full of human faeces - no toilets out here in the terminal and wild animals everywhere in the forest - oh no wait, the bag had split... each one of these little observations went through Ace and Sabo's internal garbage catalogue before a small grimy blood stained hand suddenly burst out of the apex of the pile... zombie style!

_Oooh bad luck _Ace and Sabo internally grimaced still not moving an inch from their epic stances. But they both knew they couldn't help him with this, you're first actual garbage diving is never a pleasant thing but to actually swim in it? _Rookie mistake! _They thought, now totally ignoring the fact that it was them that put him there in the first place. _But this too is training, learn from this Luffy and grow even stronger!_

"WWHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY!?" the thundering scream that echoed from the hand sent seagulls flying everywhere before leaving a teary eyed snot dripping little strawhat wearing tyke struggling to remove himself from his new hell, while his two brothers STILL stood stoically off the side coolly holding in their manly feelings lest they show a single emotion, otherwise it would ruin their brother's noble sacrifice.

_I can smell him from here._ They thought in unison.

"You guys are JERKS!"

XX

"So what were you screaming about anyway?" Ace asked him.

Luffy scowled at him before turning away in a huff, muttering something about Sabo being his only brother. Ace felt a vein throb on his temple at that remark but decided – not without great effort – to let it go. Luffy had been a right state when he pulled himself out of the garbage and the smell... GOD! And he wouldn't leave them alone so they had to take him into the forest where they played rock paper scissors until the loser had to dunk him in the lake and then fish him out again. He'd won of course, he always knew he was the stronger of the two.

It took fifty dunks before he even smelled half way decent, and that was stretching it a bit. Not to mention they'd missed breakfast and were now well on their way to missing lunch, which he would like to point out wouldn't have happened had the idiot not been running around screaming in the first place!

The more patient Sabo who was applying bandages to Luffy's cuts laughed at the pair of them before repeating Ace's question. Luffy predictably answered without hesitation.

"Oh yeah! Well I had just woken up and realised you two had left me behind..." he didn't seem to be complaining but Sabo felt a little guilty anyway. Ace just huffed and looked away. "And what do I see when I look down from the tree house! A Tiger all by itself and it was even bigger than the one that nearly killed us that one time! I was in the perfect spot so I jumped out the window and with with my Gum Gum Pistol I knocked it out cold! It was soooo COOL! Then I built a fire and cooked it all by myself, I tell ya best breakfast I've had in a while!" He grinned at the looks of shock on his brother's faces, mistaking them for looks of admiration.

_Aaand there goes the guilt..._ thought Sabo as a vein very similar to Ace's popped to life on his temple. Ace looked pissed but Sabo looked downright murderous, he'd missed breakfast to take care of this stinkin idiot! Time after time, swimming and dunking, swimming and dunking and swimming and dunking again and again until he was nothing but a prune and all the time the brat had stuffed himself full with tiger meat!?

And to top it all off the little bastard still didn't smell right!

_SNAP! _Sabo saw red. His twitching hands, coiled up with tension slowly reached up to grip the rubber kid by his throat. A few tight squeezes and that would be that. Nice knowing you Luffy, see ya wouldn't wanna be ya!

Luffy who hadn't realised the immediate danger continued his story. "So then I went looking for you guys but I couldn't find you so I just wandered around for a while and that's when I noticed those two assholes um...er... Jim and Terry?"

"Tim and Jerry." Sabo corrected dismissing his anger without second thought. Twin brothers Tim and Jerry were a pair of muscle bound thugs-for-hire who made his baby brother here look like a regular Vegapunk. But what they lacked in brains they made up for in ruthlessness... they prayed upon the innocents of the Terminal, (if you could call any of these outcasts innocent). Any dirty job you needed done they would do it, so long as it paid.

Rumour had it that they had cut a guy's heart out for an apple core.

"Yeah! That's right! Anyway I was looking for you guys when I walked past those two, I think they were arguing about something, I don't really remember, but I did notice they had this brown bag with them, so..."

(The ensuing flashback has been severally edited because lets face it, Luffy is detail impaired)

"YOU LOST THE MAP!? HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO STUPID!" That was Tim.

"NO YOU LOST THE MAP! I WAS BUSY CARRYING THE BRAT!" Or maybe he was Tim, sorta hard to tell.

"WELL WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NOW!?" Okay Luffy was pretty sure that one was Jim... Tim? No no Jim!

"I DON'T KNOW! BLUEJAM IS EXPECTING US AT EXACTLY NINE O'CLOCK AND IF WE DON'T DELIVER THE GOODS ON TIME THEN HE'S GONNA GUT US LIKE FISH!" Seriously who knew twins could look so alike?

"WHY DO YOU REMEMBER THE TIME BUT NOT THE PLACE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE!?"

"WHY DON'T YOU..."

Luffy tuned out the boring argument before gingerly continuing his search for Ace and Sabo. But he only got a few steps when he heard a quiet whimper from somewhere, glancing about in confusion Luffy noticed a brown sack shivering just a few feet away from him, he took a quick look back at the brothers but they were completely oblivious to him still hotly engaged in their screaming contest. He jogged over to the lump and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw that the sack actually had _hair_ but managed to keep himself from screaming... just barely.

With shaking hands he turned the cloth over and out plopped a young girl who could be no older than sixteen. Steely blue eyes met Luffy's dark brown with a defiance that he immediately took a liking to. If it had been anyone other than Luffy who had stumbled upon her they might have noticed she was very pretty if not down right beautiful, with her wavy golden hair tied back in a pony tail and her creamy soft skin.

_Noble skin_ the thought floated through Luffy's brain for a second before promptly disappearing altogether.

The dirt stained silk dress that she wore did nothing to hide her rather impressive curves (for her age anyway), but Luffy noticed non of that stuff focusing only on the most striking feature about her, namely the red tattoo above her left eye... some kind of flower with three feathers attached to it's centre.

"That is an awesome tattoo! Where'd you get it?" he enquired loudly bending down to get a better look only to be met with a confused whimper. That's when he realised that she was bound and gagged and totally helpless, a strange fact that he found didn't sit right with him. Not one little bit.

"Did they do this to you?" He asked unaware that it came out more of a growl and pointed towards the twins. The girl looked past his finger towards the two brothers before turning away in shame, she nodded once as a lone frustrated tear fell down her cheek.

Okay he didn't know why but now Luffy was pissed. And suddenly he was on his feet marching towards the two thugs who had dared to make his new friend cry.

A harsh squeak forced him to stop and he turned back to the girl who was now wriggling towards him frantically shaking her head, silently begging him to stay and untie her so they could escape.

Of course her desperate plea flew way over Luffy's radar, he just smiled idiotically at her and said. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

The girl looked on in confused horror as the kid completely ignored her plea and continued walking confidently towards the brothers. In fact he was so confident he proceeded to casually spin the pipe in his hand like a bo staff. A little trick Ace had taught him.

From behind him Luffy heard another muffled shriek but this time he took it to mean "Kick their ass!" _Well duh!_ he thought as the twins finally took notice of him.

"HEY BRAT WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING OVER THERE!?"

"IDIOT! WHO CARES WHAT HE'S DOING OVER THERE, JUST KILL HIM ALREADY!"

A gunshot echoed throughout the Gray. Apart from holding screaming matches with his brother it seemed Jerry's (or was it Tim? Eh, who cares) other quirk was to act on his brother's whim without thought or hesitation, if the smoking barrel in his hand was anything to judge by.

A quirk that came in extremely handy when you were the scum of the earth.

The girl screamed in despair as the bullet smashed into Luffy's chest, her one hope of escaping these monsters gone... just like that.

_That poor boy... _she thought as tears fell silently down her pretty face. _That poor stupid boy..._

But luckily it wasn't Luffy's first time getting shot at and she watched with questioning sanity as what could only be the young boy's _back_? Stretch out behind him like... well... like rubber...

_Devil Fruit...?_ she thought in disbelief as at the last second Luffy's feet dug into the ground, his rubber body gave a familiar twang and with a mighty heave he hurled the bullet back towards Jerry where it caught him just below the kneecap.

The large man fell to the ground with a bellow of pain while his brother watched on in confusion, simply unable to comprehend what had just happened. He opened his mouth to shout at his twin to stop wasting time but was suddenly interrupted by a long stick of metal to the face.

"THAT HURTS MY EARS BASTARD!" Luffy shouted as Tim was sent stumbling backwards from the attack, he tried to right himself but was unfortunately sent flying by a second swing which caught him on the other side of his face. Luffy made to go for a third strike but Tim caught the pipe and tore it away before it even came close.

"Little punk!" Tim growled as he snapped the pipe in half with disturbing ease. "You don't know who you're mess-OOF"

Ever so slowly, Tim slid to his knee's in horror as Luffy removed his fist from his crotch.

_If someone puts on a show... aim low!_ Ace's advice echoed through Luffy's mind before he smashed the guy in the chin with a brutal uppercut his rubber arms easily making up the difference in hight and sending the thug backwards into the ground... hard.

There was blinding white light and Tim watched the pretty birds fly around his head and off into the sky before he realised the strawhat kid was looking down at him from atop his barrel sized chest.

Despite the outrageous size difference between them Tim was scared and he really didn't like the look the kid was giving him... and somehow the giant grin that spread across that scarred face was even worse.

"There's this new move I've been wanting to try out," Luffy said conversationally as he clenched his fists until a distinctive cracking sound could be heard. "You don't mind do you?"

Not waiting for an answer Luffy began the chant that would one day strike fear into the cold black hearts of anyone that dared get in his way.

"Gomu Gomu noooooo..."

The grin suddenly turned that much sharper.

"GATLING!"

(30 seconds later)

The girl stared wide eyed as the strawhat boy handed the thug his own ass to him with a complete disregard for the natural laws of physics (the thug had to outweigh him by over 600 pounds easily) before casually dusting himself off and jogging back to untie her without so much a glance at the... _thing_ that apparently used to be a face.

All her life she had heard stories of the monsters that made the Gray Terminal their home. Stories of blood and disease, of men gone mad and feral eating each other to stay alive, and occasionally because it was fun. Of course she was old enough now to dismiss such grotesque if entertaining stories... but still this young boy gave her pause.

_Such strength, and he's only a kid... why do they not take the Kingdom?_

She said nothing (well she couldn't) as he undid her bonds before ripping the tape-gag from her mouth with all the grace of a rampaging elephant. She let out a quiet shriek which made him chuckle and she had to fight the urge to beat him into the ground.

She gently soothed her stinging mouth before straightening up with a most serious almost cold expression on her face. She had always been short for her age but even standing almost three foot taller than her rescuer barely did anything to settle her nerves, especially after what she had seen him do to her kidnapper.

If the boy was put off by this abrupt change in her demeanour he didn't show it.

"Are you okay?"

It was a simple question and not one she had expected. Given the reputation of the Terminal she had naturally assumed this _Junk Rat_ (that's how the nobles referred to those who lived in the Grey) would demand some type of reward for saving her life, but the guileless look on his face told her that the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

_What a pleasant surprise... _she mused as almost against her will a smile quirked to life over her soft lips. Ignoring his question, she bent down and hesitatingly pulled at his cheek and watched in fascination as it stretched out by a considerable amount before springing back with a loud snap.

She'd been right, just like rubber.

It might have been the adrenalin he was feeling unexpectedly giddy as he grumbled over her treatment of his face. _So weird... yet... so cute!_

She was about to ask him about the nature of this stretching power and if he really had eaten a devil fruit when she spied something out of the corner of her eye.

"My hero!" She squealed arms flying out to the side as though to give him a hug. Except with her left hand she casually snagged up what had to be the rusted remains of an old toolbox.

Luffy's eyes widened as she suddenly reared back with unexpected speed and proceeded to smash the toolbox into his face. He instinctively flinched back from the attack, his eyes snapping closed as his hands went up to protect his face.

CLANG!

But instead of the expected pain all he heard was a metal clang followed by an earth shaking thump and finally a soft giggle.

"So you actually _did_ forget about the other one? Wow, you are an idiot." the girls breathy voice was just dripping with amusement.

Luffy opened his eyes to see the other twin (the one he shot in the knee) on the ground with a huge lump on his forehead. Just a few inches from his lifeless clawing fingers was a rather large machete. The girl tossed the old toolbox away and walked over and picked it up, she examined the blade for a second before shrugging and placing it inside her belt for safe keeping.

Luffy looked up at the girl, eyes wide with awe and respect. She'd completely knocked the guy out... and saved his life.

"Wow, you're pretty strong!" he exclaimed rather loudly.

"_Pretty_ strong? I'll have you know where I come from I'm the strongest there is!" she harrumphed with a pout before turning away from him in a display of mock agitation. Soon he'd be stumbling over an apology, just begging for her forgiveness, there wasn't a man in this country she couldn't twist around her little finger after all.

Luffy however didn't take the bait, he didn't even realise that there was bait too take. "If you're so strong how come these guys captured you in the first place huh?"

Caught off guard yet again she turned around fully intending to kick his ass for mocking her but stopped halfway when she saw the honest curiosity on his face.

"I was betrayed." She sighed, it was a serious question so she would answer it seriously, she owed him that much at least. "My butler, or caretaker or whatever you want to call him must have struck a deal with the pirate these losers work for. Bastard must have chloroformed me in my sleep."

Luffy went very still at that revelation, the anger he thought he had spent on the twins suddenly returning with a fiery vengeance. He looked to the two blooded up thugs for a second before returning his fierce gaze to her.

"You need help kicking his ass?" he asked with no hesitation.

She took in his serious expression, with his legs wide apart, fists on his hips and scowl on his face. The whole pose just screamed 'bring it on'.

For a few seconds she struggled not to laugh in his face but somehow a very unladylike snort still made it's way through.

She was still having trouble coming to grips with the vicious monster that had probably put that thug behind her into a coma (if not outright killing him). On the inside she could not help but turn to mush over this little rubber kid with his too big strawhat and his too big eyes, stick like arms, little sandles and fearlessly asking if she needed any help and damnit he was just absolutely fucking _adorable_.

Then he turned his head in confusion (like a puppy) and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Aww you're so sweet!" She all but squealed and with little effort darted forward and scooped him up into a bear hug where she proceeded to crush the life out of him.

"Thank you, but you don't have to worry. I'm strong remember! I'll take care of him." She said, not once letting up on her spine crushing hug. It was oddly comforting to hug the kid's elastic body... soothing really. No matter how hard she squeezed it always sprang right back. Seconds ticked by as she clung to him, the tension of her horrible ordeal somehow just dripping from her shoulders. _Wow,_ she silently marveled at how good and relaxed she was suddenly feeling.

At this point Luffy had never been happier to be made of rubber, of course being a man as well as rubber he still needed to breath, the fact was that his face was lodged in a very precarious position (her chest) didn't help matters any.

_I wonder if we can make this a regular thing. _The girl thought as _years_ worth of tension started to fall away from her body and she had to struggle not to start purring like a cat.

Feeling himself turning blue, Luffy used all his remaining strength to push himself out of her death grip before falling on his butt with a deep wheezing gasp for air. He looked up at the girl in horror for a second before ducking his head under the strawhat.

_Daisies...?_ he thought. _Smells like daisies._

Confused and more than a little freaked out over the girls erratic behaviour as she too fell on her butt with a groan that sent a curious shiver up his spine, Luffy thought it best to make a very hasty retreat. But he only got a few yards before the girl was on her feet again grinning like a cat who'd just caught the canary, her blue eyes trained on his every movement.

"Hey now," If Luffy knew the word (which he didn't) he'd say she _sauntered_ up to him, reached out and lightly dragged a thumb across the scar under his eye. He stared up at her blankly even as he felt himself swallow nothing.

"You aren't just gonna let a girl walk home all by herself are you?" She lightly pinched his cheek still utterly fascinated that such a thing could exist in this world. "Didn't you're mother teach you any manners?"

"Never had a mother." he muttered vaguely now wholly focused on her magic fingers. It just felt soooo good.

She flinched away as if burned and swore she could almost hear the puppy dog whine that built up in his throat as she suddenly stopped her ministrations. After resisting the temptation to lay him on his back and give his belly a good scratch she straightened up and replied.

"Never the less, it's your duty as a man to escort a lady home, honestly most men would kill for a chance such as this." she exclaimed with a high-class sniff and started on her way before turning back and arching an eyebrow at Luffy's confused expression. "You are a man aren't you?" She slightly goaded the rubber boy.

_Too easy. _She thought with a smirk as Luffy's face went from confused to fierce in a heartbeat. _Just drop the M-bomb and men will do anything you want, even stab themselves in the face._

"I'll show you who's a man," Luffy muttered as he quickly followed her with a scowl clouding his usually calm features.

"Oh I never doubted that for a second," She smiled teasingly at him before snagging his hand as he stormed past her letting him tug her along much to his annoyance.

"I'm Luffy. Who're you?"

"My name's Daisy." She replied somewhat surprised at the sudden question.

"WOOOOOAH! WOAH! WOAH! HOLD ON SLOW DOWN!" Sabo interrupted loudly, arms flailing about as he tried to come to grips with what he was hearing. He had been listening to his little brother's story with growing interest but now that interest had turned into downright disbelief. "Daisy? You mean _Daisy_ Daisy? As in _the_ Daisy!?"

Luffy just looked confused and slightly put out by the sudden interruption. "_The Daisy Daisy_? No... I'm pretty sure it was just one Daisy..." he pinched the bridge of his nose in concentration but all he got was a slight headache for his trouble.

A punch to the face sent his head into the wall behind him with rather nasty crack.

"NOT 'THE DAISY DAISY' YOU MORON!" Sabo all but shrieked as Luffy struggled to figure out which part of his head to cradle first. "Daisy! As in Gao Daisy! THE PRINCESS!"

Ace just looked confused. "Princess?" he muttered with a frown. It was true Gao Kingdom was chock full of nobles all claiming to be cousin's or retarded descendants of the Celestial Dragons, hell he'd even heard a stories of some kind of 'annual event' in honour of the oh so beloved World Nobles.

But a Princess? That would mean Gao had a royal family, but as far as he knew no such family existed. That's just the way it had always been.

Sabo clearly disagreed however as he grabbed a fistful of Luffy's shirt bringing them face to face, his eyes had taken on an eerie almost unhinged look as he stared his little brother dead in the eye.

"Luffy," he said slowly. "I need you to concentrate okay? And be very clear, can you do that?"

The little motorboat noise his brother made followed by a "Who Knows?" shrug of the shoulders didn't exactly fill Sabo with confidence.

"16 years old, golden hair, tattoo above her left eye, named Daisy... you actually met the Princess?" He asked in a tone so cold it could have made hell freeze over.

Luffy looked blankly at Sabo and then to Ace and then back to Sabo. Something seemed to click inside his brain and he let out sudden ear piercing shriek that sent both Ace and Sabo stumbling back in fright.

"EEEEEEEEH! SHE WAS A PRINCESS!?"

"DAMN IT! DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT YOU IDIOT!" Ace screamed as he bopped him over the head before turning his attention back to a dazed looking Sabo.

"What the hells going on Sabo?" he demanded. "Princess? I ain't never heard of no Princess!"

"It's a long story..." Sabo mumbled almost to himself as he stared up at the sky.

"Oh. Never mind then. C'mon lets go get lunch." Ace turned and started his way towards the Wall, Luffy following eagerly in his wake.

"...It all started fifty years ago..." Sabo continued sagely only to realise he was talking to himself.

"HEY! YOU DON'T JUST LEAVE WHEN SOMEONE'S ABOUT TO TELL A STORY! WHERE THE HELL'S YOUR DAMN CURIOSITY!?" Sabo screamed as he stormed after them.

"SERIOUSLY WHAT KIND OF AUDIENCE ARE YOU DUMBASSES!?"

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!**


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